Arsenal have looked defensively weak in pre-season – can they cope without William Saliba as Premier League campaign nears? | Football News

Arsenal have been conceding goals at an alarming rate in pre-season. Seven across three games. Has their greatest strength, one that contributed hugely to their Premier League title success last season, become a surprise source of frailty on the eve of the next?

The Gunners face Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday, worryingly light on defensive cover. William Saliba has been sidelined with a significant back injury that is expected to keep him out for an extended period, while Jurrien Timber is still weeks away from his injury return.

Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta’s pre-season preparations have hit the buffers. Arsenal have shipped an average of 2.3 goals in their three friendlies played since the start of August, six in their last two, a figure ominously higher than the 1.4 goals per Premier League outing last term.

In fact, it’s been over three years since Arsenal conceded three plus goals in consecutive games of any nature.

Arteta will of course point to the obvious caveats. Pre-season is where mistake are meant to be made, with players easing out of test mode and closer to flow state as the campaign nears. Sharpness improves along the way.

Friday 21st August 6:30pm


Kick off 8:00pm

The Spaniard has plenty of first-team regulars to welcome back to the fold, too, as well as newest signing Bruno Guimaraes to integrate. He, alongside Declan Rice, will act as an important second line of defence.

But still, Arteta cannot hide from how open his side were in defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Sunday having fielded a first-choice back four (of those currently available). Gabriel returned for the first time to replace Piero Hincapie at the heart of it, but the defending did not improve. Rather, it deteriorated, as both Gabriel and Cristhian Mosquera were caught out of position.

Saliba sorely missed, then.

And it’s likely that same defensive quartet will be chosen to play Man City on Sunday after a final friendly test against Como on Wednesday, which should offer greater clarity of where work should be concentrated. Arteta will know his tools need sharpening before stepping out at Wembley for this season’s pilot.

Any such meeting, Community Shield or otherwise, is meaningful, and a means to exert first agency over a direct rival. Arteta, currently the Premier League’s longest-serving boss, will not be afforded the same latitude as Enzo Maresca will be in his first official act. This is competitive game 353 for Arteta, after all.

Defeat of any kind still pains the former midfielder, even six years into the job. He said Sunday’s Dortmund loss “hurt” despite the relatively minor jeopardy. “We conceded some poor goals the other day, some poor goals today, in the way we competed, especially,” he added. A recognition that Arsenal are currently operating below his expected level of intensity.

The problem is perhaps more conspicuous than it appears. Of the six conceded to Real Betis and Dortmund, three arrived from shots outside the box, two from defensive corners. Arsenal’s out-of-possession shape is unusually out-of-sync.

In midfield it’s particularly noticeable. Roles and responsibilities should stabilise, though, once Rice returns, aided by the assertiveness of Guimaraes and leadership of Martin Odegaard.

It is also apparent that Arteta has spent time coaxing more creativity out of his architects – perhaps at an initial cost to the team’s defensive structure and security. Arsenal were criticised consistently last season for relying on set-piece effectiveness to get them over the line in tight games, while open-play efficiency often fell short.

That balance of favour needed tweaking to aid Arteta’s options entering a season with the status of champions. He has also been given greater means to shuffle his pack regularly without compromising quality.

The promise of continued improvement under him surely now relies on better, more exciting possessional play – and their chance creation across recent friendlies suggests that is happening.

Starting this week, Arteta gets his first chance to work with a full complement of players as his side’s World Cup winners and England representatives rejoin the fold. His foremost concern will be addressing the new chink in Arsenal’s defensive armour – doing so without the insurance of Saliba.